Douglas Booth has opened up about what surprised him most about working with Michelle Keegan for the first time on ITV's new drama, The Blame.
Keegan, 39, stars as DI Emma Crane, a detective investigating the murder of a teenage skater. Booth plays her fellow detective and on-screen love interest, DI Tom Radley.
Co-star's praise for Keegan
Speaking to The Metro, Booth said he had not met Keegan before but knew she was "famously one of the nicest people in the business". He added: "She's so good. It helps any job you do if you get on really well with your co-star."
"But she's also like superwoman, she's just had a baby. Incredible mum, incredible professional," he said.
Surprise at her career
Asked if she could be the "next Sheridan Smith", Booth shared what had taken him aback about her career. "What surprised me is that she actually hasn't been in that much stuff because she's been doing it for so long. But she's just in really good things," he said.
He also said he had seen "first-hand" how adored she is by crew and fans. "She is a national sweetheart," he added, describing her as "relatable".
Balancing motherhood and filming
Keegan, who rose to fame on Coronation Street and has starred in Our Girl, Brassic and Fool Me Once, is married to Mark Wright. The couple have a one-year-old daughter, Palma.
In an interview with Grazia, she discussed the challenges of balancing filming with motherhood. "Listen, I think I went in blinded. Obviously I agreed to the role before I had Palma, because I was so excited by it. I think you just believe that you're going to be fine," she said.
"And of course I can do it, loads of women work full-time and are a mum. But it is hard. It's really hard," she added. "I had long days and had to go home and learn a lot of lines for the next day and be fresh, but still look after the baby at night when she was up. Luckily Mark's brilliant, he's a great partner and he's such a good dad as well."
Keegan and Wright married in 2015 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Speaking to Closer Magazine in 2024, she joked they had become "boring".
"I am happy to have a night on the sofa with our dogs watching TV and relaxing, but we do still like getting dressed up and go out for dinner," she said. "In the old days we'd go out for dinner and drinks until the early hours. But now after dinner, I'll look at my watch and say, 'Its 9.30pm, we'd better get back home for bedtime'. It's a bit more boring now."
